|
Watertown Board of Education
Regular Meeting
Minutes
Meeting Date: December 11, 2006
Meeting Time: 7:30 p.m.
Meeting Place: Watertown High Technology Center
Members Present: Ms. Mary Dzioba, Board Chairperson
Mr. Richard Mazzamaro, Board Vice Chairperson
Mr. Todd Griffin, Board Secretary
Ms. Gina Calabrese, Board Member
Ms. Mary Colangelo, Board Member
Mr. Kevin Killeen, Board Member
Mr. Chris Lafferty, Board Member
Mr. Thomas Lambert, Board Member
Ms. Joanne Pannone, Board Member
Dr. Joseph Erardi Jr., Superintendent of Schools
Ms. Amelia Grover, Dir. of Budget and Financial Planning
Ms. Betsy Hackett, Director of Special Services
Mr. Todd LoFrese, Director of Operations
Dr. Philip Pelosi, Assistant Superintendent of Schools
Mr. William Zeman, W.H.S. Student Representative
Absent: Ms. Kace DuPlissie, PTO Representative
Press: Jim Taylor, Sophie Bieluczyk, Town Times
Tommy Valuckas, Waterbury Republican American
Guests: Thad Hasbrouck, Pat Corvello, Lisa Rommel, Fran Palmer, Bob Guerrera, Sandy Greenwood, Whitey Greenwood, Fred Khericha, Joe DiCarlo, Dave King
A. Convene Regular Meeting - 7:30 PM
Ms. Dzioba convened the Regular Board of Education meeting at 7:30 p.m.
B. Salute to the Flag
Ms. Dzioba led the Salute to the Flag.
C. Presentation:
Dr. Erardi: I would like to thank Heminway Park’s talented group that will be performing for the Board of Education and public this evening. We will be treated by two selections led by our Music Director, Ms. Anna Jedd.
The following grade 6 students from Heminway Park School gave a music presentation for the holidays:
Nick Atwood Kenna Kaiser
Sara Blatherwick Adam Kuegler
Devin D’Agostino Amy Lamontagne
Jessica Demers Cameron Leo
Lauren Diaferio Katherine Pietro
Spencer Dillon Jennifer Rinaldi
Steven Donston Kathleen Songco
Amy Feda Jillian Woodring
Stephen Froese
D. Public Participation
Ms. Fran Palmer, 220 Middlebury Road, Watertown
Tonight to start with, I am speaking as a helper to the Lego League at Swift. Everett Condit is the faculty advisor. There were five other staff members, five or so high school students and five or so dads that kept the teams going each week.
First the Swift Lego League would like to thank you for your support of financing the third teams’ kit. So far the three teams have gone to a warm-up event in Waterbury a couple of weeks ago and a competition in Bridgeport this past Saturday. Tonight I want to give you an informal update. The theme this year is Nano Technology. We have three teams that competed in the Bridgeport N.E.O.N. (Nuclear Engineers of Nano) which came in 13th with a score of 91, The Wall (We are Lego League) which came in 16th with a score of 51 and Techno Spartans which came in 10th with a score of 95. There were 19 teams in the competition. It was an exciting busy day. Our teams did not win the competition, our teams did not win any of the special awards, our teams did learn a lot about Nano technology, competition, research, presentations and team work.
At the end of the competition the officials put the team numbers of the teams that did not win anything into a hat and they had a special drawing. It is called the golden ticket drawing. As a result of the golden ticket award our team, Techno Spartans, team 5064, was invited to the state competition. The state competition will be held this Sunday at CCSU from 8:00-4:00. The Techno Spartans will meet this week and improve on their programming, robot design and research presentation. They will be ready for Sunday and will put forth their best effort. Please try to come to CCSU and see the excitement of 50+ teams competing. If only we could bottle their enthusiasm and energy. We will let you know the results.
I would like to change hats for a moment and speak as the Watertown Music Booster Association President. We would like to remind the Board Members and the public of some of the upcoming winter concerts: The Swift Winter Concert will be tomorrow, Tuesday night at 6:30 pm at WHS, The High School concert is on Monday, December 18th and Judson’s is Wednesday, December 20th at 6:00pm, come early to get a parking place. The other schools’ concerts are in January and February. Also, the Watertown Music Booster Association wants to thank the Board for supporting our citrus fruit fundraiser. We had the pickup day this past Saturday. We need to give a special thank you to the Board and to Chuck Frigon, Town Manager, for their assistance in opening Baldwin School as a pick up site for the truck load of fruit. I do not have the final amounts but it was a successful fundraiser that we hope to continue annually. With the proceeds we can help the music teachers obtain things on their wish lists. And finally a special thank you to all the people that purchased the fruit and consequently supported the music program of the Watertown School District.
We wish you Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.
Bob Guerrera, 117 Adams Road, Watertown
I am hear for two reasons, one I want to thank you for letting our cheerleaders use the school facilities over the last few months because it helped them on their way to their national title. (Applause)
We have decided, as you know for the last nine months we have been pushing that turf at the Mills Complex. We have decided to support whatever decision is made rather than fight any decision that is made. Due to the fact that we do not want to split the town. It is not going to benefit the Town or the kids of the town. So whatever decision is made, we will support it.
Report from Student Council Representative – Mr. William Zeman
Mr. Zeman: Thank you, first I am not really sure how I follow up singing. I could try but you would all be in incredible pain. Two items tonight, if anyone has a senior in high school right about now, they know about the High School Guidance Department. But if they don’t I thought I would go through it because it is an integral part of Watertown High School, especially since this is college season, which I can well attest. The Watertown High School Guidance Department, or school counselors as they prefer to be known, is comprised of four main counselors along with two secretaries. They provide testing, both AP, College Board, SAT, PSAT etc. They also keep a scholarship board going in the main hallway so any students who need money for school can find out about as many opportunities as possible. They track the performance standards for every student at Watertown High School, the 1, 2, & 3 that is part of our mission statement. They also are part of WIST, the Watertown Intervention Strategy Team, which will respond immediately to any students that are having any problems with education etc. They run the eighth grade open house every year, they run peer counselors, they have meetings with all seniors, at least an hour sometimes as much as 12-15 hours over the course of senior year and college hunting. During these meetings they talk about college they also talk about jobs after high school, joining the military or some other form of higher education. They process applications, so far they have processed 211, that number is expected to double within the week as this is sort of the deadline. They have processed applications for everything from Naugatuck Valley to Yale University, and they do a great job.
My other item is something the student council has been working on for a while now. As KBA sort of made clear in their last presentation and I am sure everybody already knows, there is sort of a traffic problem at the High School and the student council has been investigating opening up Tower Road to outgoing traffic in the afternoon. This investigation has been in conjunction with the Watertown Police Department, the residents of Tower Road, Dr. Erardi’s office and the entire staff of the High School. I hope to have recommendation and a proposal on the agenda for a first read next meeting with hopefully as an action item the meeting after that. That is all I have, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Christmahanukwanzakkah. Thank you.
Report from PTA/PTO Liaison
None due to Ms. Kace DuPlissie absence
E. Budget Summary – (Information Only – No Action Required)
Ms. Dzioba: Budget summary is in the packet for all Board Members.
Mr. Mazzamaro: I have one question, the last item 999 Budget Cut, -$60,000, is there somebody who can explain that?
Ms. Grover: It is aid cut.
Ms. Dzioba: That is the difference in what we (inaudible).
F. Committee Reports:
1. Advertising Committee, Todd Griffin, Chair
Mr. Griffin: There is no report this evening
2. Athletics Committee, Chris Lafferty, Chair
Mr. Lafferty: There is no report this evening
3. Budget Committee, Todd Griffin, Chair
Mr. Griffin: There is no report this evening.
4. Curriculum & Instruction Committee, Gina Calabrese, Chair
Ms. Calabrese: There will be a meeting of the Curriculum & Instruction subcommittee on December 14th of this week and we will be discussing the preschool curriculum and previously eliminated programs to be prioritized and considered for the 2007-2008 budget.
5. Facilities Committee, Rich Mazzamaro, Chair
Mr. Mazzamaro: Facilities committee met on December 6th, two representatives from a company called Energy Education gave us a brief presentation on how our school system can possibly save 30-35% on energy costs using what they call a people oriented approach to energy saving. This unique approach has been implemented in several school systems across the US including two in Connecticut. In each case substantial savings have been realized. The committee instructed the administration to contact at least the two systems in Connecticut for comment. Copies of the presentation were also mailed to all Board Members who were not at the committee meeting for your review. We tentatively scheduled Energy Education to show their presentation to the full Board at the February 12th meeting. Also Kaestle Boos updated the committee on the three school study, site building plans were presented to our committee and representatives from KBA will share this information tonight with a very detailed presentation.
6. Policy and Labor Committee, Mary Colangelo, Chair
Ms. Colangelo: Policy and Labor committee met on December 6th and we reviewed the transportation guidelines. Further review is necessary before they are shared with the full board. The committee also reviewed the restructuring of the tech department to include changing one of the systems Network Coordinator positions to be a Lead Network Coordinator. This item is listed on tonight’s agenda for a first reading and discussion. The committee also reviewed the policy related to gifts, grants and bequests.
7. Cablevision, Kevin Killeen, Chair
Mr. Killeen: No report this evening
8. PBC Representative, Rich Mazzamaro
Mr. Mazzamaro: There is no report this evening
9. Education Connection Representative, Mary Dzioba
No report
G. Communications – Secretary
Mr. Griffin: There are no communications this evening. There is a thank you note from our Teacher of the Year, Cindy Murphy. Dear BOE Members, thank you for the wonderful reception in my honor last Monday. The clock/plaque has a very special place in my home. I will treasure it always. I am honored to work in this progressive school system. Sincerely Cindy Murphy.
H. Minutes
1. Regular Board of Education Meeting – November 27, 2006
Motion Presented by Mr. Griffin seconded by Ms. Pannone to accept the Regular Board of Education Meeting Minutes of November 27, 2006.
Motion Passed
(8-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 1 Abstained)
In Favor: Ms. Dzioba, Ms. Colangelo, Mr. Griffin, Mr. Killeen, Mr. Lafferty, Mr. Lambert, Mr. Mazzamaro, and Ms. Pannone
Abstained: Ms. Calabrese
2. Special Board of Education Meeting – December 4, 2006
Motion Presented by Mr. Griffin seconded by Ms. Pannone to accept the Special Board of Education Meeting Minutes of December 4, 2006.
Motion Passed
(9-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0 Abstained)
In Favor: Ms. Dzioba, Ms. Calabrese, Ms. Colangelo, Mr. Griffin, Mr. Killeen, Mr. Lafferty, Mr. Lambert, Mr. Mazzamaro, and Ms. Pannone
I. Superintendent's Recommendations and Report
Dr. Erardi: Thank you Mrs. Dzioba. The first two items, appointments and resignation are presented to the Board this evening, I don’t know if there are any questions or concerns with either item 1 or 2.
The Board had no questioned regarding Item #1 or #2
1. Appointments – (Information Only – No Action Required)
a. Ms. Amy Gauthier to the position of Grade 6 Teacher at Heminway Park School effective November 28, 2006, being hired on Step 2, one year of experience, Masters Degree, at a teacher’s contractual salary of $39,930.00 prorated.
b. Mr. Daryl Scopino to the position of One to One-Sp Ed Program Paraprofessional (Category #1 – One on One Sp Ed Program) at Polk School starting December 4, 2006 for 22.0 hours paid per week, at an hourly rate of $11.82.
2. Resignations – (Information Only – No Action Required)
a. Ms. Margaret Jamieson from the position of Paraprofessional at John Trumbull Primary School effective December 8, 2006 for personal reasons.
b. Ms. Sharon Lanese from the position of Grade 5 Teacher at Polk School effective
January 1, 2007 for the purpose of retirement
Dr. Erardi: The three school study report this evening will be the second leg of the three part presentation to the Board of Education. This evening KBA will be here with the board to share with you their recommendations for the three schools that we have been speaking about for the past six months, Judson School, Polk School and the High School. Our suggestion would be to allow the presenters to move through from start to finish with their presentation and then questions and we know there will be questions from the Board, at the close of the presentation. Along with our KBA Associates that are here, building principals and administrators from all three schools are also present this evening to answer any questions Board members may have. Our third part presentation will be January 8th, that will give the Board the opportunity to work through Mr. Mazzamaro’s Facility Committee to begin to cull out what you would like the three schools to look like with needed work and on January 8th administration will be prepared to share dollars attached to this program. I will defer at this point Mr. LoFrese.
Mr. LoFrese: Good evening, again as Dr. Erardi mentioned this is step #2 of a 3 part roll-out of information. The presentation is going to being with a recap of some of the code compliance issues that were discussed at the last Board of Education meeting. They are going to then move into some building needs and then some conceptual designs. At the end we will open it up and any questions Board Members have, Kaestle Boos representatives are here and ready to entertain those questions. With that I would like to turn it over to Mr. David King with Kaestle Boos Associates and he has several staff members here with him tonight to help with the presentation.
Mr. King: Good evening, very briefly in terms of an introduction, which covers information as you all know that we have talked about before, with a little bit better detail this evening. This is kind of the listing, the method or the issues that we looked at that we were charged with as part of our study. Of course it involves the three schools, the High School, Judson and Polk. We looked at first of all the physical conditions of sites and the buildings with an eye toward code compliance and what we call the service life of systems and elements within the building. We also preformed an educational assessment with the help of Tom Jacobitis. We studied curriculum analysis, future programs, from there translated that into space needs and some specifications for that which will lead to a comprehensive set of ed specs which the Board will entertain. Also included in the assessment is the NEASC report.
Mr. King gave a power point presentation on site plans for the three school study.
We will start with the High School. In terms of the site, this is what we see in terms of existing conditions. There are several different issues here, starting with, let’s do some orientation (referring to the screen) here is French street, here is the main entrance to the High School, this is the school, this is Tower over here, this is Pleasant view, this is Edwards over here. There are things that we see, a narrow drive which is congested when you come in, coming and going. This field is not in good shape, there is a lack of handicapped accessible seating and access to these fields. The parent drop off is poorly defined in terms of signage and doesn’t have handicapped access in that area. There is a lack of handicapped parking spaces here, in several locations. This street turns our to be a gathering spot which we have met with one or two of the neighbors who have complained about it. Again accessible seating and access to the field, this field is in fair condition, guardrail, pavement problems, drainage, lack of an accessible route, abandoned tennis courts, steep slopes where these red lines occur. The grandstand is not compliant in terms of handicapped seating, the field is in good condition, and I think that sort of covers that. We were asked to look at, this is an area of the site but we had been asked previously to look at this area in terms of its feasibility for supporting additional playfields. We were also asked to look at this area up in here, that is owned by the Town, again for its suitability and we were asked to look at some land much further down off of the site. We will talk about those suitability issues later on.
In terms of the major issues that we com up with, with regards to the site, parking, handicapped access, athletic fields insufficient in number, some in not good shape, the off site student parking issue and parking congestion. You see here some pictures that sort of indicate that, there is a handicapped parking space which is supposed to be up against the building, not out here. Poor conditions there, this is the grandstand but it is not sufficient in terms of handicapped access. These plans show the existing school, as it is, here is our main entrance, just for orientation purposes, here is the administrative area, auditorium, the gym, the pool, cafeteria, classroom wing, and here we are this evening. There is lower level, classroom level here; there is a lower level mechanical in nature underneath the pool. There is a second floor of classrooms up above here. The deficiencies that we saw and identified, we have grouped into these categories: building code issues, there are several codes in place that a school is required to comply with, there is a building code, there is a fire/life safety code, there is handicapped codes, one is the ADA, another is something called uniform accessibility standards. There is a health code, there is OSHA and that is really the lion’s share of it. We also looked at the outside of the building, the roof and the envelope to identify things. We took a special look at the food service areas, the kitchen and the servers. The HVAC system, heating, ventilation and air conditioning. We talked about educational space needs. Then building issues which is inside the building and that relates to things that we found that are either deteriorated or worn or in need of repair or replacement that are inside the building that are not necessarily code related.
The first thing we did was do an analysis of the school in terms of egress and what you see here are calculations of every room and space that is normally occupied within the school. The code sets forth the way in which you determine the occupant load for those spaces, it is not related to how many students you have in a classroom for example, from an educational stand point, it is strictly from a code stand point. What this does is tells us the number of people to anticipate and design for in an emergency situation. Are the corridors of sufficient size and meet the requirement for length. Exit travel, when we get to the end of a corridor and we go out the building; are the number and size of the doors sufficient for exiting from the building? What you see here are a lot of little green tags, in this case green means good, and we have a red one which means not good. What the issue is here is that this length of corridor right at the main entrance to the building is insufficient in width for the amount of people exiting from it and the doors as well.
On the second floor we see a few more red flags here, these are at both of the fire stairs which are not sufficient in width and that is why they are flagged. Overall, other code violations, there are about 80 of them listed on this master legend, which is master for the three schools, so not all 80 occur at every school, but many of them do occur at the High School. Some are fire code related and some are ADA related, that is why there are two different colors, there is a red and a yellow. You will see that many rooms and spaces have multiple deficiencies that are identified and some have just one or two. Again, the second level, same sort of thing. To sort of recap those, these are some of the more frequent deficiencies that we encountered at the High School with regard to code and what you would do to correct them. The stairs that we talked about, the lobby width, ratings for stair doors and frames, some of them aren’t rated they way they are supposed to be. Stair enclosures require an area of refuge in, that is a handicapped code requirement, and it is a place within a protected area where a handicapped person would go, there is a phone there and you are in the protected area and the phone is for communicating with the fire department when they come, and then they would come rescue the person and get them out of the building. Door pockets, typically in schools the classroom door is recessed a little bit from the corridor, there is a little bit of an alcove there and the width of that alcove, the amount of clearance on the pull side of the door and the push side of the door is regulated and we don’t have sufficient space in those pockets. Code compliant door handles has to do with having lever type handles. Access to platforms, bleachers and tiered spaces have to have ramp access to all the areas, not just the bottom or the top. Mechanical ventilation doesn’t meet the code any more, the CFM per person has changed, the amount that is required, we don’t meet that. Accessible plumbing fixtures, we find they are not there or the grabs bars and such that should go with it, for example here is a toilet room where we don’t see any compliance. Kitchen code compliance, we will talk about that a little bit more on another screen. Directional signage is required to have raised letters and Braille pictograms on each sign. Casework in every room there is required to be at least a work area, if there is a sink and a counter in a classroom for example, that has to be accessible, you also need another knee space that is accessible as a work area. Then the building is not sprinklered, we either have to sprinkler it or have to divide it into 20,000 sq ft areas for fire containment, fire separation. To be able to do that in an existing building versus putting in sprinklers, almost 99.9% of the time the sprinklers is the better way to do it. Anything that we did that was new, if we put an addition on a building that would have to be sprinklered too.
Roof and envelope, we will talk about the roof here. You don’t have a designated roof ladder to get up to the roof; we’d go through a window. Although when we get on the roof we can get to the high roof, but getting there is part of the problem. There is no secondary roof drainage with pitched roof areas which results in the ponding that you see in this photograph here. Ponding of the water causes the roof surface, the roof membrane to deteriorate more rapidly and can also lead to more serious issues when this freezes in the winter and is stuck up there. The age of the roof at the pool and the maintenance garage is beyond its useful service life, those areas should be replaced. The membrane flashing which is the material that goes around the perimeter of the roof and anywhere we have a transition from a low roof to a high roof and you have a little bit of wall space, there is a piece of flashing along there, which is dried and cracked and is where water enters. Other envelope type issues, we have this situation in the mechanical space below the pool, we some falling of brick where the face of the brick pops off during freeze thaw cycles. This is indicative of a situation where there is water in behind the wall which causes this to happen. Then you have some areas where there are some cracks.
The food service area we found that the delivery area is a congested area. The walk-in refrigerator and freezer are old; they don’t have an alert system to tell you when the temperature has gone below where it is supposed to be. Washer and dryer are in the kitchen which is not a sanitary condition. The office space is very small; preparation area is congested and not sanitary. There are not enough code mandated hand sinks. The cooking equipment is unsanitary and antiquated and that is one reason why it is unsanitary, because you can’t make it sanitary. It is not really energy efficient; the exhaust hood is not compliant with code which makes it unsafe and potentially unable to be sanitized. Serving lines are inadequate, they lack code mandated hand sinks there. They don’t have refrigerated cold serving pans. There are standards for food service areas, one is the National Sanitation Foundation the other is Hazard and (inaudible) Critical Control Point Standards.
These are some photos of what we previously discussed. This is a picture of the hood which is a condition where the filters are difficult to change, you have joining in the hood, it is supposed to be all welded and everything smooth, if you have mechanical joints those are areas where bacteria and grease accumulate, that is why it is a problem. You see some issues here with the gas; here is the washer and dryer in the food service area. This is a very cramped condition here, as well as that and here is some difficulty with the cooking equipment, which is difficult to clean because of its age.
In terms of the HVAC systems we talked about fire protection with regards to sprinklers, we talked about plumbing fixtures, including water closets, urinals, labs, drinking fountains; counter top sinks, locker room showers, not being compliant. The mechanical systems are not accurately sized to meet code any more and they are very old and have exceeded, they have done good service to you but they have exceeded their useful life. The electrical service and distribution and emergency generating systems are not in good condition and they should be replaced.
With regards to educational space needs, a draft report will be in your packet which identifies rooms and spaces based on the curriculum you provide and anticipate providing. When you see the report you will see areas where NC means no change and other areas which have square footage requirements in here that those are deficient areas. To summarize that, the science labs are found to be inadequate, administrative spaces are also found that way, the media center should be larger, the music suite doesn’t have enough space for the programs that are being provided. Conference space and SGI, means small group instruction, these spaces we found are not sufficient.
On the building issues side of things, this chart shows you issues that were identified for building issues, those that are asterisked over here indicate issues that are system wide through out the whole building and then others are indentified on a room by room bases. For example the windows are single paned glazing which is not energy efficient so we have identified that throughout the building, same thing for the second level. To highlight those issues and what you might to do correct that is replace the window wall system with ones that are more energy efficient. We have some exterior door systems and louvers that should be replaced. Abatement within the facility should be considered. We have some leaking skylights that should be replaced, replace the roof at the pool, some antiquated equipment should be replaced. Damaged interior doors, casework, deteriorated and damaged ceiling tiles and finishes, renovation of the auditorium should be considered and the locker rooms.
Now how might we go about this? This is one possible way of doing it, where we incorporate all the deficiencies we’ve encountered from a building standpoint and a code standpoint and an educational standpoint.
Once again here is the site plan. We would widen the entrance drive, so that we can have proper two lane traffic included at least two ways out, two lanes for exiting buses at the end of the school day. At the end we proposed abandoning this field and increasing the amount of parking for students in this particular area. We have segregated the bus loop from the parent drop off loop. Making this the bus loop here and the parent drop off loop inside the parking area here. Finishing out the site, we were talking about gates going down Pleasant View and restricting Tower, some additional parking, providing accessible routes to these ball fields and additional parking. Refurbishing the athletic field, service areas, rebuilding, providing new tennis courts, providing new athletic fields on this lower field, with some related parking to them. We also have an emergency access out in this area. We are talking about synthetic turf on the main field. Replacing the grandstands with accessible facilities and providing accessible routes to that facility also.
On the building side of things, the area that is outlined in red, would be new construction, proposed construction, areas where there is a faint dashed line, show some areas that will be demolished and then built back over. We would move the administrative area in here and pull it out to the front of the building and create a new main entrance. This would allow us to correct the insufficient width of the hallway by taking construction out and making it larger so it works. We have some additions to the music program, the music department is right in here, off the auditorium; we would expand it in this area. New media center here, we would make the current media center into the art suite, pulling the art classrooms from over in this area over to here, giving them nice access to the courtyard. We have a new guidance area constructed on the outside here, a new fire stair, which is another issue that had to be corrected. We also identified an issue with circulation running right through the cafeteria now, which is not compliant, we would construct a new corridor using part of the courtyard and pushing our way through on both sides. We would expand the cafeteria that is what the dashed line represents. We’d do the kitchen facilities over and some technology and shop space.
On the upper level we propose to renovate this whole floor to make it into a new science wing which would be capable of having seven labs, four general science classrooms, a new greenhouse over the top of guidance, a new stair. In order to do this, the corridor presently runs right down the center of the wing, we would move it to one outside wall that would give us the necessary space to make proper sized science labs and the support spaces, called prep rooms. Some alcove for locker areas and some opportunity for some interactive display space as well.
These are computer generated images which show how the front of the building might look. This is an entrance that we talked about, this is media center over here, this area and down to that is administrative area here. This would be the parent drop-off area in here; this would be the bus loop going around here. It is difficult to see but you have in the way back, the greenhouse back here, guidance is underneath.
This is a summary of the NEASC findings, many of these that are here, we have found the same issue as well, so I don’t need to go through every one of them. They talk about other things in more general terms also, not just from a building stand point.
Judson:
Again the site, we find some issues with surfaces that need to be refurbished or better maintained. We have a hang our area in back for after hours, we have some issues with compliance and accessibility routes. Pavement in poor condition, there is just a single loop for buses and cars in the same location which is very difficult when there are cars sitting behind buses. Everybody knows that you can’t pass a school bus out on the street when the bus picking up or discharging kids but it is equally illegal when they are in a school parking lot too. Condition of fields is also an issue. To sort of highlight that we only have this one street access; we don’t have real access to site facilities, insufficient parking and pavement and curbs in poor condition.
Again here is the existing layout for Judson, you notice many of the classrooms have their own little toilet areas in here and over there. These are the categories of the deficiencies that we found; they are in the same categories as the high school. This is our exiting plan, were we analysis the building for exiting. You see green lights and we don’t have any real red light issues in terms of exiting. In terms of code violations, we don have some concerns. Again all these items, you see many rooms have multiple issues, many little boxes going. To summarize those we have issues with compliance, casework, walls and doors, again that have to do with the recess that we talked about, signage and stairs, ramps, guardrails, handrails, are not compliant or just missing. In terms of the roof and envelope, the original part of the building in 1953, the window wall, is a steel framed single glazed system, which is in bad shape. This is all rust down here at the bottom, see here and here, this actually looks like it might be bowing a little bit. And the single glazing is very poor in terms of energy efficiency. We don’t have any access to the roof and again exterior masonry issues in some locations.
In terms of foodservice, the inadequacy of space is an issue, compliance with fixtures, like these hand sinks for example, refrigerated for the serving area inadequate, the floors in the walk-in refrigerator and freezers have deteriorated. The area for work prep is not sufficient. On the HVAC side, again entire sprinklers, toilets fixtures, we have a deteriorating exhaust system. Electrical service equipment is old; the fire alarm is not compliant with requirements.
Again on the educational issues, deficiencies noted include the media center size, computer room, the music and choral area, the instrumental music area and the art. For items that are past their useful service life or damaged or deteriorated, much of the what this plan represents here are the significant issues we found there. One has to do with asbestos materials, furnishings, fixtures and finishes which are in poor condition. Toilets are in tough shape, storage and custodial space is not adequate, much of the casework is non functional in that is designed for kids of different grade level and is not the proper height for the student population. Examples of that: a sink with a counter top with a piece of pegboard on the front, may deteriorated things within this classroom, you see lack of guardrails, and compliance with the toilet areas. This happens to be one of you storage areas that stores voting machines. Voting machines should not be stored in with other equipment; it should have its own dedicated storage area.
What could we possibly do? Here is one idea. We create two areas for entering the site, one for bus drop off that has visitor parking in here, so they have their own loop and the student area is secondary. You would come in and go out and then we have parking that works its way up into the back. This is sort of an after, evening type entrance or service entrance. The dashed line represents the limit of the building the way it is now and the gray areas represent what we would do to change them.
Mr. DiCarlo: There would be modifications to the athletic fields to address accessibility.
Mr. King: Again here is what we would propose to do to the building, we have an area that we would demolish in here and the reason for that is that when we rebuild in that area these rooms and spaces are at the proper size and relationship to one an other. We would build a larger media center, add administrative space, improve the music program and the art program.
Polk:
There are not as many issues with the site here, although some compliance with seating and accessibility which are shown along here. This field is in pretty good condition, the play-scape is not compliant. This area in here is steep. Again some compliance issues here in regard to handicapped parking, accessible routes, curb cuts are another handicap issue, drop offs, and parking spaces. Highlighting sire deficiencies here is the inaccessible play ground equipment, the access to the site facilities field and the playfield, which I said was in fair condition.
This is the existing plan, main entrance here, administrative space, cafeteria; kitchen is here, boiler room, classroom wing, the library/media center. Again it is the same categorization of issues. Egress, we see two red flags here and here, the amount of door width on both ends of this corridor are not sufficient to the current code. In terms of other code violations that is represented on this plan. To summarize those, we have compliance issues with toilets, casework, door hardware, signage, and the clearance around doors is the same thing with the door pockets.
Building exterior, we don’t find any issues with the masonry cracking, the roof is six years old I think or portions there of. Food service space is not adequate, compliance is in the toilet, work surfaces have deteriorated, that makes them difficult to sanitize. The walk-in floor is again deteriorated, should have a washer and dryer and don’t have sufficient (inaudible). You see some examples of exposed piping here; this was taken to be code compliant and it not in its present configuration. Here toilet is required to be code compliant, we don’t see any grab bars or the correct height of the water closet. I think we are looking at the refrigerator freezer here with the door clearance as well. In terms of HVAC systems compliance, drinking fountains, toilet fixtures, lighting system is old, and the fire alarm system is noncompliant.
On the educational side identified issues with regard to the media center, computer room, stage, which there is no stage, and need more administrative space. The building issues in terms of deterioration and worn out, that is the casework is designed for small children, we have larger ones there now. Gymnasium floor is in tough shape, there is a lack of a stage. Media center could be bigger and probably the biggest hit is at the bottom where the basement area has a water problem. Here you see some accessibility issues, even though this has grab bars, it doesn’t meet the code, here is the gym floor and this is difficult to see but this is the basement and this is about 1 ½ feet of water.
What do we do, in terms of the site, we construct an accessible entrance, provide an accessible route to these fields. If we can increase this throat area in here we can provide some off hours additional parking, overflow parking into the play area. By putting a gate here that can be restricted so you wouldn’t use it during the day time. Accessible play area and accessible equipment and some compliant handicapped spaces and curb cuts in this area.
This is the plan of the school, this red area outlined indicates a proposed addition, where we will expand the media center and we expand the cafeteria into a cafetorium by adding a stage. Support space is down here, it didn’t move. This is the kitchen and we expand the kitchen in this area, picking up some of these spaces that we’d move. The corridor that goes through the administrative area here would be taken up and this area would be reconfigured so that we would space for the administration. We would construct another ramp in this area because this level and this space are a different floor elevation.
In conclusion overall, we have identified and found code deficiencies at the three school, issues with regard to capital improvement items that are at the end of their service life or in need of repair. We have found that the educational program, in order to be met at the schools, requires some improvements to be considered. At the High School we have a long list of NEASC deficiencies that we independently found in our report as well.
That concludes our presentation.
Mr. Mazzamaro: I have a couple of questions. The water at Polk, is that intermittent or is that always there? Is that after a storm or is that…?
Mr. King: It is intermittent, to determine the exact cause of it would require a little bit of additional study, in that we may want to put some dye in drainage areas, catch basins and what not so we could find out more about it.
Mr. Mazzamaro: Did you do any air quality studies? Was there any fear of bacteria or mold from the water?
Mr. King: We did not do any air quality studies.
Mr. Mazzamaro: The door alcoves, you said on I think it was the High School presentation or maybe Judson, is there are reason why there is an alcove, why wouldn’t they just be flat down the hallway?
Mr. King: The idea is to, it is not necessarily a code issue, but it is so that when the classes are changing and the hallway is full of kids, we don’t want to have the door swinging open and somebody running into a out swinging door so we build them in some kind of a recessed area where the door can swing open and not be in the way, takes care of that. However over the years with the increased awareness about accessibility in schools for people that are handicapped, that the width of that door pocket really needs to be thought about in much more comprehensive terms than it ever was before.
Mr. Lafferty: Two quick questions, one was about the handicap violations for the grandstand at the Mills Complex at the High School. Could you just explain what the violations were? I know there is a ramp on there.
Mr. King: Yes there is a ramp, you are required to have an accessible area for handicapped and companion seating at the lower level and at the upper level. You have a press box and the press box is required to be accessible also. Those are the things that actually surprise a lot of people but they are real issues and that is what we found.
Mr. Lafferty: Thank you. One more, going on some of the code violations we had at Polk, the building was built in 1991, correct?
Dr. Erardi: The last renovations were in 1991
Mr. Lafferty: Ok, well at that time were a lot of these problems that we had, a lot of the code violations, were they code violations back when they were being built or where they in compliance and over 15 years or so have the codes changed thus making them obsolete?
Mr. King: The answer is probably yes to both and at one point in time, probably back in ’91 when an addition was put on an existing school, you were not mandated to bring the entire building up to code, and even now you could consider a program where if you only did limited improvements in a certain area, you could just make that area compliant and not make the entire school compliant. But if you are doing work, even if it is cosmetic renovations in a school or room or a space and the value of that renovation is exceeds 20% of the room or space, then you are required to bring that room or space up to code.
Mr. Killeen: Just for the record, the Polk roof is brand new, effective what last year or so? I think your presentation stated it was six years old, it is brand new.
Ms. Dzioba: Thank you very much for your presentation, it was very informative.
3. Three School Study
Administration and representatives from Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc. will present information on the progress of the study thus far.
Dr. Erardi: We will continue on with the Superintendent’s report, item #4 is to recognize and congratulate a number of student artists from the Watertown Schools that have artwork in display in the Tech Center during the month of December, congratulations.
Dr. Erardi read the students’ names listed.
4. Student Artwork
The artwork that is on display this evening was done by the following young artists:
Rebecca Hibbard, Kindergarten, John Trumbull Primary School
Elizabeth Downey, Grade 1, John Trumbull Primary School
Adrianna Perugini, Grade 2, John Trumbull Primary School
Christian Febles, Grade 3, Polk School
Alison Walker, Grade 4, Polk School
Nicole Nemense, Grade 5, Judson School
Sara Gambardella, Grade 6, Heminway Park School
Allison Belloff, Grade 7, Swift Middle School
Daniel O’Rourke, Grade 8, Swift Middle School
Amy Henion, Grade 10, Watertown High School
Jessica Waldron, Grade 10, Watertown High School
Clare Rafferty, Grade 12, Watertown High School
Nicole Morley, Grade 11, Watertown High School
Dr. Erardi: The final item on the Superintendent’s agenda is presented to the Board this evening as a first reading that came through your Labor and Policy committee; this is in response to the Network Coordinator that we will be bringing on board in January. This, as you recall, is a budgeted item that we delayed the hiring until mid-year. Mr. LoFrese will share details in regards to item # 5 at this point.
Mr. LoFrese: Per the NEASC recommendation, the Board of Education authorized a mid-year hire for an additional network coordinator to offer additional technical support at Watertown High School. That would bring that department total up to three employees. Currently this department is structured that the two employees report directly to me and it was felt that the third employee, it may make more sense to restructure the department to allow for some clear lines of communication with a Lead Network Coordinator over seeing the daily supervision of two additional employees in that department. At the last policy committee meeting a plan was brought forth to the policy committee to consider restricting the department which would include changing one network coordinator to be a lead network coordinator, which would be a working supervisor position.
Dr. Erardi: If Board members have questions in regards to item #5 between now and January please be in touch with my office. That concludes the Superintendents report.
5. Network Coordinator/s Restructure – First Reading
At its meeting on December 6, 2006, the Policy and Labor Committed reviewed the restructuring of the position of Network Coordinator/s. It is presented this evening to the full Board for the first reading. (See Attachment A.)
J. Report from the Chairman
Ms. Dzioba: I am happy to report, and I want to thank several people for their hard work and dedication. At the last meeting I asked for a list of service personnel that are currently either deployed or in the military so these names and addresses could be put on our website. I have been told that as of today they should be there and we have so far a dozen service people. Nick Calabrese, David Cordova, Jason Cordova, Matthew DaSilva, Mike Donnato, Ben Hannur, Tim Jacobson, Steve McSweeney, Ian McQuade, Capt. Brian Ray, James Samoska and Jeremy Wills are currently on the list. If anyone knows of anyone else who would like to be on this list or should be on this list, please call the Munson House. Again I urge anyone in town to please go to our website, find their addresses and send these dedicated service personnel a holiday card or just a greeting.
Mr. Lafferty: Are there requirements, what we consider military personnel or just anyone enlisted in the military in any branch?
Ms. Dzioba: Anyone in the military and we also have listed who is currently deployed overseas in the war zone, correct? Right now we have David Cordova, Jason Cordova, Matthew DaSilva, Steve McSweeney, Ian McQuade, Brian Ray and James Samoska are currently in either Iraq or Afgahnastan. Again I encourage everyone to go to our website.
I guess the only thing I can say is that this is our last meeting of 2006, so far this year, this school year, it is so strange because what is the New Year for everybody else seems to be midyear for the school system. But so far I think we have had a very good school year. I think 2006 was a very good year for the Board of Ed, we passed our budget, we got several new excellent members to our Board and I would like to thank all Board Members, Administration, Munson House, all the staff, teachers, and involved parents, concerned citizens, for all the support they have given us this year. Wish everyone a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year and hope that you will all stay involved and committed to our goals in 2007. Other that I would like to say is that if Mr. Killeen would be the representative to Heminway Park School if that is acceptable, we would like you to fill that vacancy.
Mr. Killeen: Thank you very much.
K. Action Items – Adoption of Items to be Approved by Consent
a. Consideration of the Approval of the Proposed Calendar 2007-2008 – Second Reading
A draft of the proposed calendar for school year 2007-2008 was presented to the Board of Education for the first reading at its meeting on November 27, 2006. The calendar for 2007-2008 is presented this evening for the second reading and for Board approval.
It is recommended that the Board approve of the proposed calendar as for the school year 2007-2008.
Motion presented by Mr. Mazzamaro, seconded by Mr. Griffin to approve of the proposed calendar as presented for the school year 2007-2008.
Discussion: None
Motion Passed Unanimously
(9-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
b. Consideration of the Approval of the By-laws of the Watertown High School Alumni Association, Inc. – Second Reading
The By-laws of the Watertown High School Alumni Association, Inc. were presented to the Board of Education for the first reading at its meeting on November 27, 2006. The By-laws are presented for the second reading this evening and for Board approval.
It is recommended that the Board approve of the By-laws of the Watertown High School Alumni Association, Inc.
Motion presented by Mr. Mazzamaro, seconded by Mr. Griffin to approve of the By-laws of the Watertown High School Alumni Association, Inc as presented.
Discussion: None
Motion Passed Unanimously
(9-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
c. Consideration of the Approval of the Use of $600,000 State of Connecticut Grant – Second Reading
A request from the Town Council for the Board of Education to endorse the alterations to the athletic field presently under construction at Swift Middle School to be partially funded through the $600,000 State of Connecticut grant was presented to the Board of Education for the first reading at its meeting on November 27, 2006. The use of the $600,000 State of Connecticut Grant is presented this evening for the second reading and for Board approval.
It is recommended that the Board approve of the Town Council’s request to endorse the alterations to the athletic field presently under construction at Swift Middle School to be partially funded through the $600,000 State of Connecticut grant.
Motion presented by Mr. Mazzamaro, seconded by Mr. Griffin to approve of the Town Council’s request to endorse the alterations to the athletic field presently under construction at Swift Middle School to be partially funded through the $600,000 State of Connecticut grant.
Discussion:
Mr. Mazzamaro: I think this is a good decision for the Board, I think it is a good decision for the kids. Having a synthetic field at Swift and a multi-use field will alleviate a lot of the pressure on the fields we have now. And combine that with the three school study and the possibility of synthetic field at the Mills Complex and we could have two fields with lights and synthetic surfaces in the very near future which in my mind can be nothing but good for all kids and all sports programs in town.
Mr. Lafferty: I would like to add that when we send back whatever our decision is tonight, in the event that we approve this that we also recommend to the Town Council that they look into any measures or equipment that they need to purchase in order to take care of the sanitation of the field and the cleanliness of it because there are some sanitation problems that have arisen in turf fields. So suggest that when we get it we make sure that we have a clean and sanitary field, if we do get it.
Ms. Colangelo: Can someone elaborate on the sanitation issue?
Ms. Dzioba: I had asked the Superintendent and Todd spoke to me at the beginning of the meeting; there are some concerns that were brought to Board Members that sanitation is necessary when there is an accident or something to that effect on the field. Todd if you would elaborate.
Mr. LoFrese: Certainly, I spoke with our architect in regards to that who then contacted turf manufacturers to research that a little bit further. The response is that simply spraying down the field, cleaning is sufficient to take care of those issues. There is a drainage system underneath that is sand and rubber granule base so that material gets washed through. Also typically any bid specs that go out for these fields, includes the purchase of equipment necessary to maintain it. So typically when the spec is written, it also requires the manufacturer to provide the necessary sweepers to maintain the field.
Ms. Dzioba: Also there was another concern with about if there is a baseball diamond on the turf that the lines between the bases shouldn’t be turfed also.
Mr. LoFrese: Correct, there was a question raised on whether the baseball diamond would either be dirt or turf material and the research shows that it can be either and that it is a preference thing. That will be determined more in the design phase of the project.
Mr. Lambert: I think we ought to think about a few things also with this turf situation at Swift, that if we do do this we have to remember that the replacement costs is usually 2/3, that was one of the guesses, every 10-12 years. So we must remember that we might have to be putting away some money every year in the budget for this in order to properly maintain it. Also I think that these kinds of good ideas come about, I think that the Town Manager and the Town Council should be congratulated for their excellent idea to turf this school field. I really would like to endorse that, I think they really should be congratulated for a great idea.
Ms. Dzioba: I would also like to just say that I am also in favor of this proposal to put the turf at Swift, I would also like to bring it to the attention of the Board Members and to the community that yes, Tom you are right, the replacement costs is going to be the Board of Ed’s responsibility, maintenance, warranties, we will then own this turf and it will be our responsibility to take care of it and replace it. I’d also like to point out to the public that this also will include money for the contingency; this is going to be part of the Swift renovation fund. The Board of Education is going to be taking the money that they presently had in the renovation for updating their fields and improving them and adding it the $600,000 and that is what makes this possible at Swift as opposed to anywhere else on school property.
Motion Passed Unanimously
(9-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
d. Consideration of the Approval of Acceptance of Gifts
1. Anthony Bartholomeo would like to donate crafts to Watertown High School with an approximate value of $100.00. These crafts were made by Linda Bartholomeo’s Art Class for the Watertown Education Foundation’s Art Auction.
2. Ron Webb would like to donate 71 books to the Watertown High School library with an approximate value of $1,500.00.
3. Ann and Jim Tucker would like to donate children’s art work to John Trumbull Primary School with an approximate value of $35.00.
4. John and Susan Santopietro would like to donate children’s art work to John Trumbull Primary School with an approximate value of $35.00.
5. Post University would like to donate a multi-thousand dollar gift scholarship to a Watertown High School graduating senior.
It is recommended that the Board accept these generous donations and letters of thanks to be sent to the donors.
Motion presented by Mr. Mazzamaro, seconded by Mr. Griffin to accept these generous donations and letters of thanks to be sent to the donors.
Discussion
Ms. Colangelo: How is the scholarship money going to be distributed and who is going to be in charge of that program?
Dr. Erardi: The Post University Scholarship I think is an exciting opportunity and a brand new opportunity coming through that schools new leadership with Dr. Patricia Sanders. I’ve met with her, it will fall within our guidance department, we have a protocol set, it is an annual $5,000 gift giving to a graduating senior which includes a laptop, which includes money for books. We are very excited about that; we think that Ms. Colangelo that we have a system in place and I know that we have applicants so we are excited about that.
Motion Passed Unanimously
(9-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
e. Consideration of the Approval of the Disposal of Obsolete Equipment
1. Mr. Thad Hasbrouck, Principal of Watertown High School, requests permission to dispose of a Quasar VCR, Serial #60410278,Model #VH5163, and a Quasar TV, Serial #AL62310470, Model #WT5951AW located in the high school library, and are in broken condition, according to Board of Education policy.
It is recommended that the Board approve of the disposal of a Quasar VCR, Serial #60410278, Model #VH5163, and a Quasar TV, Serial #AL62310470, Model #WT5951AW located in the library, and are in broken condition, according to Board of Education policy.
2. Mr. Todd LoFrese, Director of Operations/Technology, requests permission to dispose of two old upright pianos that are no longer in use, one at Watertown High School and the other piano at Swift Middle School by means of an auction. Both pianos are beyond the cost-effectiveness of repairing them.
It is recommended that the Board approve of the disposal of two old upright pianos that are no longer in use, one at Watertown High School and the other piano at Swift Middle School by means of an auction.
Motion presented by Mr. Mazzamaro, seconded by Mr. Griffin to approve of the disposal of a Quasar VCR, Serial #60410278, Model #VH5163, and a Quasar TV, Serial #AL62310470, Model #WT5951AW located in the library, and are in broken condition, according to Board of Education policy and two old upright pianos that are no longer in use, one at Watertown High School and the other piano at Swift Middle School by means of an auction.
Discussion
None
Motion Passed Unanimously
(9-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
f. After an Executive Session Discussion, Consideration of the Approval of Extending the Superintendent’s Contract through 2009
It is recommended that the Board of Education approve of extending the Superintendent’s contract through 2009.
Motion presented by Mr. Lambert, seconded by Ms. Pannone to approve of extending the Superintendent’s contract through 2009.
Discussion
Motion Passed Unanimously
(9-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
L. Future Agenda Items and Board Members’ Comments
Ms. Pannone: I would like to know the hiring procedure of our bus drivers; I would like to know for example
the back ground checks, do we go through the Department of Motor Vehicles, do we have them fingerprinted,
are there random checks every so many years as to their record and so forth, if at all possible?
Ms. Dzioba: The Superintendent says you will have that the next meeting.
M. Public Participation
None
N. Executive Session
Personnel Matter
School Nurses’ Contract Negotiations
Motion presented by Ms. Colangelo, seconded by Ms. Pannone to enter into Executive Session with Non-affiliated employees and all Board Members listed as present.
Motion Passed Unanimously
(9-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
Executive Session convened at 8:50 p.m.
Executive Session ended at 9: 32 p.m.
O. Regular Session for Possible Vote to Extend Superintendent’s Contract through 2009
P. Adjournment
Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Mr. Lafferty to adjourn the Regular Board of Education Meeting of December 11, 2006.
Motion Passed Unanimously
(9-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
Meeting adjourned at 9:32 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted by
Todd Griffin, Board Secretary
Bonnie Goulet, Board Clerk
|